Idioms and Phrases (part-1)

Category: English || Published on : 2020-11-22 10:18:42 || Author : TILS Education 3130

Idioms and phrases are always used to make the sentences effective and to make it reach to the receiver in more appropriate and understanding manner. We read and listen many idioms and phrases in our day to day life in our mother tongue, here is given a list of those idioms and phrases which will make your spoken and written English out of the box :-


1) To die in harness - Die while still working
2) High time - Already late to do something
3) Hold out - To resist
4) Give in - Yield
5) Run down - In poor health
6) Hard pressed - In difficulties
7) Herculean task - A work requiring very great effort
8) Put up with - Tolerate, endure
9) Reading between the lines - Understand the hidden meaning
10) To turn a deaf ear - Disregard
11) To smell a rat - To suspect a trick
12) Red letter day - Significant day
13) To eat humble pie - To apologize
14) An open book - No secret
15) Hard and fast - Strict
16) Off and on - Occasionally
17) To run into rough weather - Encounter difficulties
18) Hard up - Short of money
19) To run across - Meet by chance
20) Walking on air - To be happy
21) At stake - In danger
22) Got the sack - Dismissed
23) In the long run - Ultimately
24) High and dry - Alone, isolated
25) To turn one's head - To make one's vain
26) To turn up one's nose - To despise
27) To end in a fiasco - Complete failure
28) The Achilles heel - Weak point
29) Free for all - Uncontrollable situation
30) On the level - Mentally compatible
31) To go against the tide - To go against majority
32) To prick a hole in one's coat - To find fault
33) To have a way with words - To convince someone
34) A queer fish - A strange person
35) Done to death - Murdered
36) Cut above - Superior
37) Hard of hearing - Somewhat deaf
38) In a tight corner - In a difficult situation
39) To keep the ball rolling - To work constantly
40) Lay down arms - To surrender
41) A moot point - Undecided, controversial
42) Hold and corner - Secret
43) To burn one's finger - To get into trouble
44) To make both ends meet - For only basic needs
45) To hit the jackpot - To make money unexpectedly
46) To show white feather - To show sign of cowardice
47) To beat the air - To make useless efforts
48) To set the Thames on fire - Try to do the impossible
49) To cut the Gordian Knot - To solve a difficult problem
50) A turn Coat - One who changes one's opinion
51) To rise to the occasion - To be equal to an emergency
52) Hit below the belt - To act unfairly
53) Chicken hearted - Cowardly
54) A gala day - A day of festivity
55) A man of straw - One who has no influence
56) To cut a sorry figure - To make poor show
57) To follow the primrose path - To go for an easy life
58) To throw cold water - To discourage
59) Lion's share - Major share
60) A dark horse - An unforeseen talent
61) To face the music - To face unpleasant consequences
62) A bird's eye view - A general view
63) To add fuel on the fire - To aggravate the problem
64) To cope with - To handle, to face
65) Maiden speech - First speech
66) French leave - Absent without leave
67) To build castles in the air - To make imaginary plans
68) To fall through - To fail
69) To let the grass, grow under one's feet - To remain idle
70) To play havoc - To cause destruction
71) A feather in one's cap - Something to be proud of
72) To poke one’s nose into - To interfere
73) Hush money - Bribe paid to secure silence
74) To accept a gauntlet - To accept a challenge
75) Fair and square - Honest
76) A hard nut to crack - A difficult problem
77) Come up with flying colours - To get a grand success
78) To burn a hole - Get spent quickly
79) To look up - To improve
80) Pull through - To recover
81) Passed away - Died
82) Look to - Be careful
83) Cast aside - Ignore as useless
84) To bring home - To emphasise
85) To put one out - Irritate
86) To feel on edge - Nervous
87) A man of parts - A man with ability
88) A man of letters - Scholar
89) To make head or tail - To understand
90) To send one packing - To terminate service
91) Breathing down one's neck - To watch closely
92) To beat, neck and crop - To beat completely
93) To sail close to the winds - To take risk
94) To keep a straight face - To remain serious
95) To draw the long bone - To exaggerate
96) Hard and fast rule - Rule that cannot be broken and modified
97) Bad blood - Enmity
98) Far and wide - All around
99) Small talk - Light conversation
100) The long and short - Main point